With State budget negotiations ongoing, now is the time to address the lack of funding for Health Home Care Management programs throughout New York. It has been years since the State approved an increase in funding for these essential programs, but what are they?

Health Home Care Management programs, like the one at St. Catherine’s Center for Children, work to improve the health and well-being of Medicaid-eligible children and families dealing with chronic health issues. When issues like asthma, diabetes, a mental health diagnosis, developmental or neurological conditions or complex traumas go untreated for years, it creates larger issues that often result in costly emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations.

Unfortunately, many individuals don’t receive care for issues like these due to the significant social barriers they face, including joblessness, lack of transportation, lack of childcare and food insecurity. Health Home Care Management programs help clients tackle these issues while identifying areas of care that clients are lacking. Care Managers increase clients’ connectivity to the healthcare system to improve their health before it reaches a critical point.